"The Savage Mind" (Claude Lévi-Strauss)

"The Savage Mind" by Claude Lévi-Strauss explores how all human cultures, regardless of technology level or complexity, use similar mental processes to categorize and understand the world. He argues that so-called "primitive" societies have rich, logical ways of thinking, resembling modern intellectual methods. Lévi-Strauss introduces the idea that human thought operates through binary oppositions—like good vs. evil or raw vs. cooked—found in myths, rituals, and beliefs everywhere. Overall, the book shows that even simple societies apply complex mental structures, revealing universal patterns in human cognition and culture.